ken · /kɛn/

Scots / Northern English dialect

Origin: From Middle English kennen (“to make known, see, know”), from Old English cennan (“to make known, declare”), originally a causative of cunnan (“to become acquainted with, to know”). Also reinforced by Old Norse kenna (“to know, perceive”). Cognate with German kennen, Dutch kennen, Swedish känna, Danish kende. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną, the causative of *kunnaną (“be able”) — the same root that gives us the English verb “can.” The word appeared in its noun sense on the English horizon in the 16th century, originally referring to the distance bounding the range of ordinary vision at sea (about 20 miles).

Definitions:

— “D’ye ken what I mean?” (Do you know what I mean?)

— “I dinnae ken.” (I don’t know.)

— “It’s beyond my ken.”

Conjugation: Third-person singular kens, present participle kenning, past tense and past participle kenned or kent.

Notable phrase: The Dictionary of the Scots Language records the expression “kent his faither” — a disparaging, dismissive term for a successful person whose background is known. (Essentially: “Don’t be impressed, I knew his dad.”)

Usage notes: In everyday spoken Scots, ken functions much like “know” or “y’know” as a conversational filler — “It was just, ken, one of those days.” Today the noun form rarely suggests literal sight, but rather the extent of what one can metaphorically “see.”​​​​​